Exactly like riding a bike

upthe19th · 30-05-2013 10:53pm #1

Background

Up to November '11 exercise was zero. I took up running and some marathon training and completed DCM 2012. About 2 months ago the running was put on hold through injury. The injury has put pay to the running, so I'm going to give the cycling a go.

I'm a total newbie to the bike. I used it for some cross training in the past but that is as far as it goes. I've been getting bits and pieces for the past 12 months or so and recently made a modest upgrade in the bike.

In the last 2 weeks or so I've done about 200km at an average speed of approx. 25k/hr. 60km is the longest spin I've done so far.

Goals for 2013

1) Join a local club
2) Get in 3-4 spins a week, approx. 150km or more distance wise
3) Maybe a club event or 2 before the end of the year

Like I've said, I'm starting from the very start so all advice is welcome.

upthe19th · 02-06-2013 8:14pm

A couple of days of manflu this week(thursday/friday) meant I only got out twice.

Wednesday 29th May
30k cycle. Nice weather. Pretty strong wind.

Distance: 30.09km
Av speed: 25.2km/hr
Max Speed: 50.9km/hr

Sunday 2nd June
Club cycle with local club. Thoroughly enjoyed. A really friendly bunch of lads and really kept me going. First time cycling in a group. A very nice route with a good profile, a bit of everything. Application form is filled out, Goal 1 almost complete.
No numbers for this one, I'm afraid. I had a bit of a computer issue. I was reliably informed by one of the others that it was:

Distance: 85km
Av. Speed: 27km/hr

Dilbert75 · 03-06-2013 4:43pm

Good luck with the log J - I'm sure you'll be very successful. 85k though? You're out of my league already.

upthe19th · 09-06-2013 9:38pm

A very poor week. The dose of manflu I had the previous week took hold again on monday. I reckoned it would run its course, it didn't and developed into a nice chest infection. So I'm on 7 day course of antibiotics.

Club application handed in and membership paid. Got to see a few club races during the week and meet some of the lads again. Picked up a club jersey too.

Missed the club spin this week but got out on my own for one light cycle today.

Sunday 9th June

Distance: 24km
Av speed: 22.5km/hr
Max Speed: 48.7km/hr

upthe19th · 16-06-2013 8:16pm

The weeks are flying by. 3 cycles this week. Going to start including elevation gain in my stats. Got a few books for some training sessions.

Thursday 13th June
Not too bad. Managed to get my max speed up a bit higher.

Distance: 38.01km
Av speed: 25.6km/hr
Max Speed: 58.9km/hr
Elevation Gain: 270m

Saturday 15th June
Handy one. Mostly spinning the legs and a few short sprints.

Distance: 24.02km
Av speed: 23.9km/hr
Max Speed: 56.1km/hr
Elevation Gain: 161m

Sunday 16th June
Club cycle. Not too bad but I was fairly tired by the end. The thought of an ice-cream and a bottle of lucozade did not leave my mind for the the last 12km.
Found a brilliant place to do hill training not far from my house, giving me a nice distance to warm-up and cool down on the way there and back.

Distance: 83.51km
Av speed: 24.4km/hr
Max Speed: 51.9km/hr
Elevation Gain: 703m

Dilbert75 · 16-06-2013 8:33pm

Fair going lad. Sounds like you're enjoying it. Kudos on the max speed - never got close to that despite trying very hard.

upthe19th · 23-06-2013 7:21pm

Birthdays and bbq's were the order of the day this week. Only got out twice.

Wednesday 19th June
This was a bit of a fartlek session, bit of everything. But I really tried to keep the speed up and attacked everywhere I could. A bit weird with the elevation gain being about 30m less, all the other numbers were identical from the last time i did it. Knocked 6 minutes off the course.

Distance: 38.00km
Av speed: 27.4km/hr
Max Speed: 55.1km/hr
Elevation Gain: 242m

Sunday 23rd June
Club cycle. Not as far as usual but good none the less. Really starting to feel comfortable in a group.

Distance: 71.65km
Av speed: 25.9km/hr
Max Speed: 55.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 456m

upthe19th · 30-06-2013 5:37pm

4 cycles and a total distance of approx. 199km

Monday 24th June

Distance: 25.17km
Av speed: 27.2km/hr
Max Speed: 47.5km/hr
Elevation Gain: 171m

Wednesday 26th June
Handy one. Mostly spinning the legs and a few short sprints.

Distance: 22.05km
Av speed: 25.3km/hr
Max Speed: 46.6km/hr
Elevation Gain: 160m

Thursday 27th June
Had the day off. Had the 72km done before 9am. Then the young fella tripped and fell, needed gp visit and cut was glued. Then I drove to galway when all was ok. Did I say "day off". Nearly broke 60km/hr for the first time.

Distance: 72.47km
Av speed: 25.9km/hr
Max Speed: 59.7km/hr
Elevation Gain: 422m

Sunday 30th June
Finished the week off with my very first sportive, the little dragon in enniscorthy (75km). Thoroughly enjoyed it. The food was brilliant i thought. Decent course with one particularly steep climb, if there had been a fella selling gears half way up i'd have bought 2 from him. The garmin clocked it at 80km and a time of 3:02 or so.

Distance: 80.23km
Av speed: 26.4km/hr
Max Speed: 52.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 696m

upthe19th · 07-07-2013 5:17pm

Thursday 4th July
Bit of everything in this one. Happy enough with it. Had planned 38km but there was a guy ahead of me up the road and I had to hunt him down.

Distance: 42.02km
Av speed: 27.5km/hr
Max Speed: 57.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 260m

Saturday 6th July
Nice cycle with a fellow boardsie (Dilbert75). The stats are a bit off cos I kept forgetting to restart the garmin a few times, rectified for the future with autopause:o. Finally broke 60km/hr.

Distance: 49.65km
Av speed: 22.5km/hr
Max Speed: 61.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 406m

Sunday 5th July
No rest for the wicked today. Need to get a few 100km cycles in before my next sportive in 2 weeks time. I was in the saddle at just after 6am. Did 98km. Home for shower, quick bite to eat and out the door to go marshalling. Some eye-opener watching today. Racing looks like being a long way away for me.

Distance: 98.35km
Av speed: 25.2km/hr
Max Speed: 51.1km/hr
Elevation Gain: 501m

upthe19th · 14-07-2013 6:02pm

Decent enough week. Wonderful weather. First week of over 200km, first of many I hope. First commute to and from work as well.

Wednesday 10th July
I had been threatening to cycle to work and back for a while. With the weather so good, I threw a bag on my back and headed off. Took a slightly different route on the way home which tagged on just a few more km. Enjoyed it, hope to maybe do 2 days next week. Stats for the both the "to" and "from" below.

Distance: 40.58km
Av speed: 25.4km/hr
Max Speed: 51.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 345m

Distance: 44.34km
Av speed: 23.7km/hr
Max Speed: 52.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 367m

Friday 12th July
A cycle to where i plan to do a lot of my hill training. 1 climb and descent and then cycled home. Really need a lot of hill work. Very weak part for me.

Distance: 42.09km
Av speed: 22.5km/hr
Max Speed: 53.0km/hr
Elevation Gain: 380m

Saturday 13th July
Happy enough with this cycle. It was a warm one. Took on 2 litres of water during it. A lot of bikes out on the road. Felt reasonably comfortable throughout and happy to do it under the 4 hours. Hopefully a bit quicker the next time.

Distance: 100.97km
Av speed: 26.0km/hr
Max Speed: 51.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 606m

upthe19th · 21-07-2013 5:19pm

Happy with the week. Wonderful weather continues. Got 2 days of commuting and my first 100k sportive. Just over 270km for the week. Next week is an easier week, a few spins and maybe some hill work.

Tuesday 16th July
Work commute. Stats for the both the "to" and "from" below.

Distance: 40.59km
Av speed: 25.3km/hr
Max Speed: 50.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 308m

Distance: 44.41km
Av speed: 25.2km/hr
Max Speed: 56.1km/hr
Elevation Gain: 359m

Thursday 18th July
Work commute. Stats for the both the "to" and "from" below.

Distance: 40.60km
Av speed: 25.6km/hr
Max Speed: 50.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 341m

Distance: 44.41km
Av speed: 23.4km/hr
Max Speed: 51.6km/hr
Elevation Gain: 354m

Sunday 21st July
My first 100k sportive. Really enjoyed it. The organisation was brilliant, I think they really got it spot on. I found the climbing tough, but nothing new there. Felt strong after the first food stop and got in with a group of 4 from just before tullow to shillelagh. They stopped at the last stop for water and I decided to press on alone. Picked up a guy from club in Tullow just after sliabh bui and we travelled nicely together to the end. Overall happy with it and plenty of lessons learned, again, nothing new there.

Distance: 105.90km
Av speed: 25.6km/hr
Max Speed: 58.6km/hr
Elevation Gain: 1100m

upthe19th · 28-07-2013 3:09pm

3 cycles this week. Much easier week and did a lot of stuff with the family. Finally have strava set up. Herself is sick to death already with talk of segments, pointing out segments in the car.....going to have to ease up a bit, there's only so much she will listen to.

Wednesday 24th July
Not too bad. Improved on a few segments.

Distance: 70.4km
Av speed: 26.0km/hr
Max Speed: 51.1km/hr
Elevation Gain: 629m

Friday 26th July
Same route as wednesday. Wanted to improve on a few segments, with mixed results. A bit of improvement overall.

Distance: 70.4km
Av speed: 26.9km/hr
Max Speed: 51.1km/hr
Elevation: 641m

Sunday 28th July
Club cycle. Good group and enjoyed it.

Distance: 68.0km
Av speed: 27.9km/hr
Max Speed: 57.6km/hr
Elevation Gain: 421m

upthe19th · 04-08-2013 8:18pm

265km for the week. I'm dropping max speed from the recorded stats, its pointless. Bit of everything and finished the week with my first ever 160km sportive. My farmer's tan has reached epic proportions, I've seen mahogany sideboards with less colour.

Monday 29th July
Spin to my hill climb training spot. One climb and descent and home.

Distance: 55.0km
Av speed: 24.6km/hr
Elevation Gain: 596m

Friday 2nd August
Very gusty. Aborted longer cycle for a handy spin to a lap of a local racing route and home again.

Distance: 25.8km
Av speed: 25.3km/hr
Elevation: 212m

Saturday 3rd August
The less said about this the better. Got a feckin puncture but did get one lap of local race route done before it.

Distance: 22.0km
Av speed: 26.5km/hr
Elevation Gain: 182m

Sunday 4th August
Did the coastal tour of wexford. Longest cycle I've ever done. Met a guy with about 55km or so to go and we travelled the rest of the way together. One of the soundest fellas I've met. I could not have made it without him.
Hell of a jump up in distance from 100km but manageable...just. When I got off the bike I swore that I did not want to see it again for a week, but I plan to go out in the morning to spin the legs for an hour or so. Should get things loosened out hopefully, well that and the red wine I'm about to start into here.

Distance: 162.4km
Av speed: 26.3km/hr
Elevation Gain: 1151m

upthe19th · 11-08-2013 5:36pm

Took the week off. Bike was out of action for repairs till Thursday and work was busy. Lack of motivation with the 160km sportive already completed. Next few weeks will be busy with work and the farm too. Plan is to start an 8 week training programme to work on certain elements with recovery spins in between. We'll see how it goes.

086Jazzy · 11-08-2013 8:28pm

Good man John. Don't take to long off, it can be hard to get back into it. Hope to see you on the road soon.

upthe19th · 18-08-2013 1:25pm

I've posted 10 weeks of training to date and absolutely loving the bike. The transition will be fully complete in a couple of weeks with a new bike, a substantial improvement on the current one and an investment for the future. Some sound advice from a fellow boardsie sealed my thinking on the upgrade, thank you if you're reading this. Of late I have been seeing quite a few people out on the roads. They don't have bikes and it's like walking but faster. I feel like I should know what they are doing but I can't seem to remember :P.

Having taken last week off and with 10 weeks under the belt, I decided to push it hard this week and get that average speed up and get most of it done in the big ring. God knows why I chose this week. Work was mental and I was harvesting some evenings. Wrecked.

Wednesday 14th August
Not too bad. The av speed was up a good bit and I was happy.

Distance: 28.0km
Av speed: 29.1km/hr
Elevation Gain: 251m

Saturday 17th August
When I started out the legs were tired and sluggish. First 10k was spinning the legs and then I pushed on.

Distance: 55.2km
Av speed: 28.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 528m

Sunday 18th August
This was going to be the real test. A much longer cycle and still try to maintain some of the intensity. About 85% was spent in the big ring and in spite a stiff breeze on the way back, I was happy with the av speed. Managed to fall off the bike while stopping for lucozade:o, the old "clip out the right and fall to the left" routine. Very embarrassing and I was up off the ground in seconds. Managed to cut my right leg above the ankle, about 2 inches long and pretty deep too. Nobody really around thankfully. A few minutes later there were quite a few cyclists around who had pulled in on the way to the wexford 2 day events.....that would have been very embarrassing.

Distance: 97.5km
Av speed: 27.9km/hr
Elevation Gain: 605m

nilhg · 18-08-2013 10:48pm

upthe19th wrote: »

Sunday 18th August
This was going to be the real test. A much longer cycle and still try to maintain some of the intensity. About 85% was spent in the big ring and in spite a stiff breeze on the way back, I was happy with the av speed. Managed to fall off the bike while stopping for lucozade:o, the old "clip out the right and fall to the left" routine. Very embarrassing and I was up off the ground in seconds. Managed to cut my right leg above the ankle, about 2 inches long and pretty deep too. Nobody really around thankfully. A few minutes later there were quite a few cyclists around who had pulled in on the way to the wexford 2 day events.....that would have been very embarrassing.

Distance: 97.5km
Av speed: 27.9km/hr
Elevation Gain: 605m

One of our guys managed to do exactly the same thing a week or two ago, at first it looked very little but he finished up in A&E getting 5 stitches, quite a bit of oil/gunk from the chainring was in there, might be no harm to get it looked at.

upthe19th · 19-08-2013 11:55am

nilhg wrote: »

One of our guys managed to do exactly the same thing a week or two ago, at first it looked very little but he finished up in A&E getting 5 stitches, quite a bit of oil/gunk from the chainring was in there, might be no harm to get it looked at.

Cheers man. Its grand there today, it was just a lot deeper than I would have expected. Cleaned it up yesterday and covered it and it seems to be fine now, albeit sore. Not ideal for jumping up and down off harvester this evening, but needs must and all that.

upthe19th · 25-08-2013 11:43pm

Crazy week but I knew it would be. Work, harvesting, a wedding, a 60th birthday and marshalling. I only got in one cycle. Got a few more bits and pieces accessories-wise and gave the bike a full overhaul.

Wednesday 21th August
This was a tempo session, a case of sticking her in the big ring and trying to keep as high a tempo as possible but one I could hold. When I was doing this distance 8 weeks ago and pushing it, av speed was 27.4 km/hr, So I'm pretty happy with a 3 km/hr improvement.

Distance: 38.0km
Av speed: 30.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 306m

upthe19th · 01-09-2013 2:38pm

6 cycles this week. Decent week overall, well at my level anyway. First week over 300km and some gains as regards average speed.

Monday 26th August
Tempo session. Pushed it up a bit and broke the 30km/hr for av speed.

Distance: 38.0km
Av speed: 30.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 300m

Tuesday 27th August
Recovery, just spinning the legs for an hour. Nice and relaxed

Distance: 24.0km
Av speed: 23.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 210m

Wednesday 28th August
Tempo session. Good session and pushed it while trying to keep it steady

Distance: 38.1km
Av speed: 31.1km/hr
Elevation Gain: 308m

Friday 30th August
Took a spin down to hill training place. One climb and descent. Happy with it and took nearly a minute off my seg time. Still suffering a bit from what I like to call "Hill Panic":o. Fartlek session on the way home.

Distance: 49.0km
Av speed: 26.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 489m

Saturday 31st August
Tempo session with a bit of fartlek thrown in to keep things interesting. Tough but worth it. Nice to get some distance and keep the av speed up.

Distance: 80.2km
Av speed: 29.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 509m

Sunday 1st September
I was wrecked when I got up. I needed to be done by 10, so was on the bike just after 7. First 10km were tough cos the legs were tired. This didn't help as the I wanted to improve on a seg which starts 5 km from home. After 10km I felt looser and stronger. Got second overall for the seg, delighted with it. Finished out the cycle as a fartlek session.

Distance: 72.0km
Av speed: 27.3km/hr
Elevation Gain: 606m

upthe19th · 08-09-2013 10:20am

Not too much to report. 2 cycles this week. I had a lot of other stuff on. The BB on the bike was shagged, so she's in the LBS for repair. The garmin edge is working out well, a nice upgrade from my auld forerunner 205.

I've finally settled on a new bike. Full carbon and a serious jump up from my current bike, which will serve very nicely as a winter bike. Should all be sorted in next week or two. Can't wait to give it a good lash on the road. It will be interesting to see if there is much of a difference in my overall performance. TBH I'm not expecting a massive amount and that is not because of the bike, as I'm still the limiting factor in this equation. It'll be a case of me improving and the bike waiting for me:o.

I'm already checking out carbon wheels and tormenting myself......there's just no end to it. What have I gotten myself into?

Tuesday 04th September
Fartlek session. Modest at best.

Distance: 53.1km
Av speed: 29.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 425m

Wednesday 05th September
Recovery spin.

Distance: 24.0km
Av speed: 24.2km/hr
Elevation Gain: 192m

Dilbert75 · 08-09-2013 10:47am

And there was you thinking a few pairs of trainers, some race entries and a bit of Physio was an expensive hobby!

Nice progress though - looks like you've found your sport.

upthe19th · 08-09-2013 10:59am

Dilbert75 wrote: »

And there was you thinking a few pairs of trainers, some race entries and a bit of Physio was an expensive hobby!

Nice progress though - looks like you've found your sport.

Not so much expensive as painful....can't all be skinny feckers;).

Progress is ok, but it remains to be seen if I can ever be reasonable at it. It's all still to be done....nothing worthy of note achieved yet but not for the want of trying. We may get an auld spin together. I see the calves are giving you bother.

Dilbert75 · 08-09-2013 11:29am

upthe19th wrote: »

Progress is ok, but it remains to be seen if I can ever be reasonable at it.

Sure none of us will be heading to Rio, unless we're spectating. But as long as we're enjoying it, that's the main thing.

upthe19th · 08-09-2013 12:08pm

Dilbert75 wrote: »

Sure none of us will be heading to Rio, unless we're spectating. But as long as we're enjoying it, that's the main thing.

True. Still like to be somewhat handy at it though. No doubt that Im enjoying it.

upthe19th · 15-09-2013 4:14pm

4 cycles this week.

Tuesday 10th September
Short fartlek session.

Distance: 26.4km
Av speed: 27.0km/hr
Elevation Gain: 206m

Thursday 12th September
Short fartlek session.

Distance: 26.4km
Av speed: 28.2km/hr
Elevation Gain: 205m

Friday 13th September
Fartlek session. Not a bad session.

Distance: 38.0km
Av speed: 31.0km/hr
Elevation Gain: 293m

Saturday 14th September
Steady distance and a bit of recovery. Lovely morning for a spin.

Distance: 90.2km
Av speed: 28.0km/hr
Elevation Gain: 560m

blockic · 15-09-2013 6:12pm

Any Sunday? :P

upthe19th · 15-09-2013 6:29pm

blockic wrote: »

Any Sunday? :P

Nah....sure sunday is a day of rest;)

upthe19th · 22-09-2013 3:24pm

Work was very busy so cycling was restricted to the weekend. Just passed through 2500km on strava. Have a little bit more than that done but only started recording properly on strava in middle of June.

Saturday 21st September
Some Fartlek and just spinning the legs for rest of it.

Distance: 55.2km
Av speed: 26.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 531m

Sunday 22nd September
Wanted to put in a long cycle. Hadn't done any 100km+ distance since tour of wexford. Wanted to do it a good bit quicker than I did.

Distance: 128.0km
Av speed: 26.9km/hr
Elevation Gain: 961m

upthe19th · 29-09-2013 1:54pm

Very little to report training wise I'm afraid. Work was busy and a day at the ploughing championships meant I was tired. Tried to get out this morning once the rain subsided, got 5km from the house and rode through a pile of glass puncturing both wheels......not a happy camper.

On a lighter note, I got the new bike and got it out yesterday for a spin. I felt guilty about splashing out on it up until about 2km into the ride and then all guilt quickly disappeared. Its a dream to ride. Very quick and responsive and its glued to the road. Very happy with it.

Saturday 28th September
Nice spin on the new bike. Nothing serious, just scoping it out.

Distance: 60.4km
Av speed: 28.3km/hr
Elevation Gain: 429m

wirelessdude01 · 29-09-2013 2:21pm

What bike did you get?

upthe19th · 29-09-2013 3:58pm

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

What bike did you get?

Look 586. It was on offer in the shop as it was the last one he had. Really sound fella. Been dealing with him for a couple of months now with work on my other bike and the service is excellent.

nilhg · 29-09-2013 7:36pm

upthe19th wrote: »

Look 586. It was on offer in the shop as it was the last one he had. Really sound fella. Been dealing with him for a couple of months now with work on my other bike and the service is excellent.

Nice, well you may wear.

upthe19th · 29-09-2013 8:02pm

nilhg wrote: »

Nice, well you may wear.

Thanks j. Its pretty nice alright. Nice overall package component wise. I was more interested in getting the best frame i could. A guy in the club was advising me. Not on makes and models but saying to get the bike for "down the line" if i could afford it at all, rather than upgrading and upgrading again in a year or 2. She's "off the shelf" at the moment except for 2 bottle cages and a set of white shimano pedals.

upthe19th · 06-10-2013 2:17pm

Light week again. Short spin saturday and did my first TT (5miles) on sunday. Really enjoyed it. Great buzz. I've done the route faster but that was in a group towards the end of a club spin.

Saturday 5th October
Handy spin with a few sprints. Nothing serious.

Distance: 38.0km
Av speed: 28.5km/hr
Elevation Gain: 304m

Sunday 6th October
Warm-up and first 5 mile TT. It's definitely given me an appetite for racing next year and to train hard over the winter.

Distance: 19.7km
Av speed: 27.1km/hr

upthe19th · 13-10-2013 3:27pm

4 cycles this week.

Tuesday 8th October
Fartlek session with recovery.

Distance: 24.0km
Av speed: 28.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 191m

Friday 11th October
Short fartlek session with sprints.

Distance: 24.1km
Av speed: 29.6km/hr
Elevation Gain: 193m

Saturday 12th October
Club cycle.

Distance: 117.2km
Av speed: 29.2km/hr
Elevation Gain: 837m

Sunday 13th October
Club cycle.

Distance: 60.2km
Av speed: 26.5km/hr
Elevation Gain: 418m

upthe19th · 20-10-2013 5:39pm

Nothing much done for the week. Got the new turbo trainer, courtesy of an old buddy of mine and fellow boardsie (dilbert75), cheers C:). Did the Castlecomer Challenge 100k today.

Sunday 20th October
Did the Castlecomer challenge 100k today in the excellent company of fellow boardsie Nilhg, thanks a million man, great to finally put a face to the name.

Weather wise it wasn't great but it cleared up for the tougher parts of it. Pity really cos the organisation was excellent and the grub was even better. Many thanks to all involved. Also met Derealbadger at the food stop and again at the end, nice to meet you.

Distance: 96.8km
Av speed: 27.1km/hr
Elevation Gain: 685m

career_move · 24-10-2013 5:18pm

Is this where you hang out now?

For shame man, for shame :P

upthe19th · 27-10-2013 8:56pm

career_move wrote: »

Is this where you hang out now?

For shame man, for shame :P

Pretty much K. Seems to be going ok so far and thoroughly enjoying it tbh.

upthe19th · 27-10-2013 9:02pm

Feck all done this week as I was working late pretty much all week. Got out for a club cycle and that was it.

I'm off for the next week, so I'd hope to get out for a few spins. I'm also starting core training next week, for the next 8 weeks.

Sunday 27th October
Club cycle.

Distance: 68.6km
Av speed: 25.5km/hr
Elevation Gain: 441m

upthe19th · 03-11-2013 3:42pm

The planned core training fell by the way-side this week. Will have to wait till next week. Finally got the turbo trainer up and going. Small bit of physio. 255km for the week, not too bad i suppose.

Monday 28th October
Really tough spin. Serious headwind, especially for the last 20km, but a nice tough session from a training perspective.

Distance: 76.8km
Av speed: 25.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 479m

Thursday 31st October
Wanted to get in a decent spin and take in a bit of hill work. Not too windy and I had allowed for several 'bail-out' routes towards the end. Came very close to taking a few of them but stuck it out despite several energy crashes. Took a slight shortcut at the end which knocked off about 3km or so. Average speed was poor.

Distance: 148.6km
Av speed: 25.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 1289m

Saturday 2nd November
Turbo Trainer for 50mins with about 10 minutes of intervals.

Sunday 3rd November
Good session today. A friendly 'TT style' 30k spin with a local tri club, which a friend invited me to take part in. Lovely bunch of people, really friendly. Not too unhappy with it, there was a little bit left in the tank but I found it hard to judge the distance and pace, but I wasn't too far wrong.

Distance: 29.7km
Av speed: 30.6km/hr
Elevation Gain: 210m

upthe19th · 10-11-2013 9:20pm

Monday 4th November
50mins Turbo Trainer with intervals.

Tuesday 5th November
50mins Turbo Trainer with intervals.

Saturday 9th November
Fartlek session. Followed it with 30mins Turbo Trainer.

Distance: 38.0km
Av speed: 30.3km/hr
Elevation Gain: 295m

upthe19th · 17-11-2013 8:09pm

Tuesday 12th November
60mins Turbo Trainer including 10mins of intervals and 20 minutes of high resistance/low cadence.

Thursday 14th November
60mins Turbo Trainer including 5mins of intervals and 15 minutes of high resistance/low cadence.

Saturday 16th November
Fartlek session. Nice to be out in the fresh air. A route i'm used to but went slightly off usual course to take in an extra climb. Had no idea what the climb was like, just knew it was there. Headed into it at pace in the big ring, big mistake considering it was Cat 4 and 1.4km. Paid for it pace-wise for the rest of the spin.

Distance: 53.0km
Av speed: 28.9km/hr
Elevation Gain: 443m

upthe19th · 24-11-2013 9:57pm

Stumbled through 3500km since 12th june after todays cycle. The wheels are in motion to do some racing next year, so we'll see how it goes. Considering I'm a complete novice I will be choosing my events carefully and trying to keep out of the way for the first while, i.e. the back of the group, although I'm pretty sure that won't be by choice.

Training will include some running for next 6-7 weeks. May do a non-cycling event in January as something to aim for over the winter from a fitness point of view only.

Tuesday 19th November
50mins Turbo Trainer including 20 minutes of high resistance/low cadence.

Thursday 21st November
50mins Turbo Trainer, medium resistance and high, steady cadence

Saturday 23rd November
Club cycle. Cold but bearable. Hadn't done over 100km in a while and it knocked me a little bit tbh even though it was not a hard pace.

Distance: 107.5km
Av speed: 26.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 731m

Sunday 24th November
Recovery cycle for the most part. The winter bike is running like clock-work. Stuck new tyres on it this week.

Distance: 41.6km
Av speed: 26.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 403m

upthe19th · 01-12-2013 10:51pm

Light week. Got a heavy cold on thursday, friday and saturday which knocked the stuffing out of me and just about got myself in shape to do a 30k spin on sunday.

Tuesday 26th November

4.7 mile run @ 7:54mpm pace

Wednesday 27th November

4.7 mile run @ 8:02mpm pace

Sunday 1st December
Round 2 of a friendly 'TT style' 30k spin with a local tri club. Lost about 30 seconds over the course from the last time that I did it, which I suppose wasn't bad considering the state I was in for the previous 3 days.

Distance: 29.8km
Av speed: 30.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 210m

Tagged on a 40 minute turbo session at medium resistance and 80-90rpm

Dilbert75 · 02-12-2013 12:21am

Tri club, eh? Only a matter of time...

upthe19th · 02-12-2013 7:35pm

Dilbert75 wrote: »

Tri club, eh? Only a matter of time...

I'm all stocked up on crazy.....but thanks. Ain't going down that route fella.

Dilbert75 · 02-12-2013 7:46pm

upthe19th wrote: »

I'm all stocked up on crazy.....but thanks. Still trying to convince myself that I ain't going down that route fella.

FYP

upthe19th · 02-12-2013 8:05pm

Dilbert75 wrote: »

FYP

Nice try. I'll watch you from the sidelines next year but that's it.

upthe19th · 08-12-2013 9:45pm

Couldn't shake last weeks dose, it lingered all week, restricting training. 6 days of work and saturday evening on the farm didn't help matters.

Thursday 5th December

4.7 mile run @ 8:00mpm pace

Saturday 7th December
Very enjoyable spin with Dilbert75. We did a couple of short sprints and a hill climb and the rest was steady.

Distance: 72.1km
Av speed: 23.6km/hr
Elevation Gain: 763m

upthe19th · 15-12-2013 7:56pm

Continued to have a heavy dose this week, didn't shake it until friday. Always found it easy to shake off colds but for last while its been harder and harder to do.

Saturday 14th December

40 minute core session.

Sunday 15th December

40 minute core session.

Exactly like riding a bike

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